Announcement
A café near the vocal academy.
I'd arranged to meet my vocal coach separately to talk in detail about the featuring offer.
"So… since the contract is technically with the virtual character Miro, that means you can participate in the song under your own name, Soo-hyun?"
Seated across from me in the quiet weekday café, my coach wore an expression of puzzlement.
"Uh… I didn't know either, but that's what my manager said."
"Contracts these days are complicated…"
"Right? I was a little stunned when I first heard it too."
"Anyway, you are participating, right?"
"Yes, it's a good opportunity, and I want to do it."
"And you'll earn back your lesson fees too, right?"
"Ah, no… the company said they'll cover them."
My manager, feeling bad that the approval hadn't gone through, had quickly arranged support for my vocal lessons.
"Wow, really? That's some good benefits."
"Apparently they had already planned on supporting vocal training."
"Impressive. Your company's pretty solid."
"Yeah, I don't think it's bad at all."
I figured The Six was a decent company.
After all, they'd had the good sense to sign someone like me. They'd produced a great debut track, handled collab schedules and the showcase—all I had to do was show up and perform.
"That's good then. Hyun-soo really liked your voice, you know. Oh—Hyun-soo is Slim Gold's real name."
"Ahh…"
So the name was Hyun-soo.
Since I had decided to participate, I'd looked up as much as I could about Slim Gold, but there wasn't much information about their name or background.
Turned out they were a lot more noteworthy than I'd thought.
Not famous with the public yet, but the industry insiders seemed to be watching them closely as a rising rookie—at least, that's what someone had written on a forum.
"So how should we do the meeting? Online like we planned? Personally, I recommend offline. Nothing beats actually meeting face-to-face to coordinate."
"Ah… but how does he even know about me? From what I've heard, it sounds like he's heard me sing, but…"
"Honestly? I doubt he knows the details."
"Huh?"
"I gave him a rough explanation, but he's totally clueless about that stuff… I'm not sure he even understood."
"Then what about the song?"
"I did show him your video… you know, with that avatar thing? He didn't say much about it."
"Really?"
So he didn't know much about VTubers?
Well, not surprising—hardly anyone really does.
"But he's not the type to care. He's young and has that reckless passion, you know? He just charges forward, focused only on his own music. You know the type."
I kind of understood. Someone who tunes out everything else and just does what they want.
Not the best mindset for an office worker—but for an artist, not necessarily a bad thing.
"So how did you two meet?"
"He took lessons at our academy for a while. You probably noticed, but he leans toward band-style music. He's into Japanese music too."
That made sense. Japan definitely had the stronger band scene, while in Korea the popularity had long since cooled off.
"Anyway, since I teach in that area, we talked a few times and became friendly."
"Does he still attend?"
"Nope, he quit after a month."
"Why?"
"Because he's a genius."
"Huh?"
"He absorbed everything I could teach in just one month and left. Funny, right?"
That much of a genius?
Now I was curious.
And, well, from the Slim Gold tracks I'd listened to, they were genuinely good. Different from mainstream pop, but solid.
"Hmm… then maybe I should meet him."
After a moment's thought, I decided I might as well.
When I recorded my debut song, I'd also met the composer in person—so why not this time? After all, I'd be joining not as Miro, but as Kim Soo-hyun. No reason to avoid it.
"Really?"
"Yes. He can keep a secret, right?"
"He doesn't really have anyone to tell anyway."
That only made me more curious.
Just who was this person?
"Alright, I'll meet him."
"Great. I'll set something up soon."
"Thanks. Could I have his contact info in the meantime?"
"Sure, I'll give you his number…"
She handed me Slim Gold's phone number, and with that, our meeting wrapped up.
"Shall we get going?"
"Yes, thank you."
We stood, exchanged goodbyes, and I left the café.
While waiting for the bus, I suddenly realized I'd forgotten something.
"Ah, right…"
I hadn't told her my debut song was releasing tonight.
After returning home, I had a quick meeting with my manager and teammates, reviewed the notes the company had sent over, and then started my stream.
[Debut song release at 9 PM.]
Miha
hey hey
finally the song's dropping
As the viewer count quickly climbed, I brought up my avatar on screen and spoke.
"How was everyone's day?"
just played LoL all day lol
so-so
been waiting for you, bastard lol
[OO sent 1,000 won donation!]
Debut song finally coming out?
"Yep, it'll be out in an hour."
niceee
lololol
honestly if it flops, that's a win too tbh…
I'm hyped
[MasterMiro sent 10,000 won donation!]
How's the debut song?? Gimme a hint
"Oh! Thank you for the 10,000 won! Personally, I liked it a lot. Maybe it's because my voice is in it, but I never got tired of listening."
lol stfu
can't deny your voice is nice tho
people are saying it came out pretty well?
"I think you'll need to see the MV to really judge, but the song itself is good~"
[OO sent 1,000 won donation!]
How well do you expect it to do, honestly?
"Ah, honestly, I don't know."
Plenty of songs come out and never touch the charts.
Even tracks by famous singers can vanish without a sound these days.
No matter how nice it sounded, the odds of a "virtual idol's" song making it big were slim.
"Still, everyone worked really hard, so I hope you'll enjoy it. You know all the members went to the studio to record in person, right?"
fr?
yeah
everyone else already shared that story
wait what, you guys recorded in person?
"Ah, guess some people didn't know. Makes sense—I don't think I've ever mentioned it on stream."
[OO sent 1,000 won donation!]
How would we know if you don't tell us, dumbass? Stop only rambling about anime and share stuff like that
lmaoo
finally some real tea
bless youuuu
"Alright, maybe I'll spill some now. It's been a while, but…"
yessss
tell us
is Maho pretty?
"Maho-unnie? Ah, she's really pretty. I actually thought, 'Why is someone like her a VTuber?'"
And that was the truth.
She was honestly so beautiful and striking that it made you wonder why someone like her was streaming from her room behind a monitor.
ah yeah lol
if she's that pretty, why's she a VTuber lol
girls are all "pretty" by default anyway ㅋㅋ
"If I said, 'Why ask if you won't believe me?' you'd feel hurt, right?"
gasp..
I almost felt hurt..
what
[OO sent 1,000 won donation!]
How about you, Miro?
"Me? You curious?"
gasp
is that more fanservice?
honestly, I am curious tbh…
"Hah… I'm not supposed to say stuff like this, but honestly? If I showed up on TV, it wouldn't be weird."
?
that's a stretch..
there she goes again
still an hour left, let's play some LoL in the meantime
I smirked inwardly at the chat doubting me.
Well, they'd find out someday… or maybe never.
"Anyway, back to the story… oh! When we recorded, I actually went to the studio and met the composer in person."
ooo
wasn't it a famous person?
I saw tons of promo
that guy used to compose for idols
"But he wouldn't let me go."
???
what do you mean
gasp
huh
"Like, 'let's try it this way,' and then, 'now let's try this version,' and on and on—it took forever."
["StationeryEraserThiefMiro" sent 3,000 won donation!]
Maybe they just kept making you redo it because you sucked? Would I get banned for saying that?
"Gasp… sorry, I insta-banned you after reading the first line."
lmaoooo
bye loser
deserved
"I'm kidding. It wasn't because I sang badly—he just wanted to test all sorts of things with my natural voice."
ah yeah lol
got it
that's the one ㅋㅋ
"Anyway, the recording dragged on so long that Maho-unnie had to cancel our movie plans. You know that indie film about the sparrow's grain store? We'd reserved tickets but it ended too late."
gasp..
she missed it
what movie's that?
it's good ㅇㅇ
"Ah, I missed my chance too. Is it still showing?"
yeah still
it passed 5 million tickets
go watch it
"Still? Then I'll try to catch an early screening sometime."
Chatting away with my viewers, time flew, and soon it was almost time for the debut release.
"Alright, the MV will premiere on The Six's official channel. The audio will also be released on streaming platforms simultaneously."
Opening the official channel, I saw the MV for our debut track Heavenly Realm waiting in the scheduled premiere slot.
Only about a minute remained.
"Okay everyone, quiet down and take your seats."
got it
if it sucks, I'm roasting it lol
ready to hate
let's gooo
"You're all saying that, but you'll stream it on repeat, right?"
only fangirls of washed-up idols do that
we'll loop it if the song's good
are you confident?
I glanced away from the cheeky chat and focused on the YouTube countdown.
The one-minute timer had already dropped to 10.
The numbers kept ticking down.
9…7…
My heart thumped harder with each second.
6…5…
How was the song again? I remembered it being good… but what about the MV?
4…3…
If the MV flopped, wouldn't we get roasted on forums? The members' mental state would be wrecked.
2…1…
No. No, that won't happen.
We didn't half-ass this.
Just relax and enjoy.
The countdown ended.
Music poured into my headset.
[With you…]
As the bright, clear voice carried the opening line of the melody, I closed my eyes.
Even though I'd heard the finished version countless times already, it still sounded fresh, and I savored it calmly.
When the short four minutes were over, I opened my eyes again.
On the screen was the replay bar of YouTube, marking the end of the MV.
The Six..! The Six..! The Six..! The Six..!
Mom, I'm going to the Heavenly Realm! Mom, I'm going to the Heavenly Realm! Mom, I'm going to the Heavenly Realm!
lol Miro didn't even watch the MV?
this one's a hit
please come back down..! please come back down..! please come back down..!
The chat exploded at lightning speed.
"Ah… I didn't even watch the MV."
Only after savoring the song did I realize I'd forgotten to actually watch the video.
But judging from the response, things looked good.